Play Recording

Update on the play recording: the digital file will be shared with everyone free of charge in about 2-3 weeks!

Parent Feedback on the Play

 Please fill out this survey by March 16. We would love your input on the play. *Bonus: once you've completed the survey, you'll be able to see the Cast Photos. Thank you!

Cast Party!

Important Performance Information - Please read!

Updated February Rehearsal Calendars

Cast Party Help

Please sign up to drop off an easy donation for the cast party. We're excited to celebrate after the show! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0944AAAF29A7F94-47709887-cast

THANK YOU from Marci

Dear Parents, Teachers, Admin, PTA, etc

Every morning when I come home from play practice, I am full of gratitude for this Upland Terrace village.  There are SO MANY people involved in putting on Beauty and the Beast Jr and I am personally thankful for each one of you!  I know my own strengths and weaknesses, and there’s zero chance I could sew a costume or figure out set design.  (100% chance I can make an awesome spreadsheet though, nerd that I am). 

Here are a few things I’ve noticed this week and some specific thank yous:

• So many parent volunteers at rehearsals! I hope you feel that your time and help were needed when you came. We’re able to get through so much more when parents are helping kids know where to be and when, keeping them on track with choreo and songs, and quiet during other times. So THANK YOU for coming, jumping in, and helping our kiddos have a great experience at play practice. (And thanks to those of you signed up to come in these next few weeks!
• Mrs Reed and Mrs Anderson for their support, Mrs Rooker for her willingness to work with us on orchestra rehearsals so your children have the opportunity to participate in BOTH, Ms Buck for being our teacher liaison, all the Upland teachers with classrooms on the lower level for tolerating the chaos and noise level in the mornings, Mr. Ben for cleaning the stage, mopping the floor, helping with sound, and all the other little things he does to help us!, Debbie and Kathryn for answering questions, passing out socks, and helping with random requests like colored tape!
• Our fabulous choreographers Mary Thompson, Brenda Jensen, and Kristina Helland. They’ve put in so much time creating, teaching, tweaking and teaching again each of their songs. These numbers are true showstoppers!
• Stage Crew! Jenny Child and Annalisa Anderson have now been coming to every rehearsal and are so ON THE BALL at leading our stage crew in moving set pieces, opening and closing the curtain, marking where pieces go and when, etc. Thanks to them and other parents helping as well!
• Trent Krummenacher comes to at least half of our rehearsals if not more. His experience with acting and production has been SOOOOO important and he’s always stepping in helping the kids learn their part (choreo, songs, where to be and when), helping leads with where to stand and how to engage the audience, etc. Thanks Trent!
• Tracie Cannon, Annie Adolphson, Rachel Edwards, Brooke Matheson, Amanda Robinson, Sarah Nelson, Kate Wilhite, and everyone else helping with costumes. Blows my mind how creative and brilliant these costuming people are! I wouldn’t know where to start let alone how to thread a sewing machine.
• Emily Chipman and Elise Post with set design and construction. These two women are basically the dream team. They have so many ideas on how to turn our stage into a castle AND village, Belle’s cottage, Gaston’s tavern, etc. This play has the set changing almost every single scene, so we need to be resourceful and clever with set design. The team of parents who have come to help with painting and all the rest have been crucial as well!
• Diana Leeflang and Stephanie Urry with all the time and thought put into ticketing this year from the design of the tickets, to printing, distribution, means of selling, etc. It was love at first sight when Diana handed me a typed up agenda for our first meeting. (nerds unite!) These women are ON IT.
• Sara Palmer and Janessa Palmer with props… I can’t wait to see their creation for Maurice’s invention. If you know either of these women, you know we’re in good hands!
• Kim Winterton is basically a rockstar - which I suspected beforehand, but can now officially confirm. She handles communication on the blog, instagram, and groupme. Responds to questions. Prints and distributes calendars, ticketing info, costuming info, etc. Not only that but she’s also designing our program! Any time we need anything at all, she’s quick to step in and Gets. It. Done.
• Sarah Snow, whom I didn’t even know before the play, but who is ALSO rockstar material - creative and incredibly reliable. She updates the play bulletin board faithfully each week, efficiently takes on all the random tasks I ask her to do (thank you!!), created the costume check google form so we make sure each cast member has what they need for performance nights, and is now quietly pulling aside each cast member to take their photo for the cast stars that will decorate the gym - making sure we don’t miss anyone. Sarah has been a game changer!
• Codie Massey heading up shirts and hoodies this year - getting out the info about ordering, ordering shirts, organizing and distributing shirts, etc. not to mention everything PTA! Thanks Codie!
• Our volunteer coordinator Allison Rosdahl for designing and faithfully keeping our signup genius up to date and organizing volunteers! Jillian Dean for overseeing rehearsal help and making sure we have the help we need each morning. Thank you both for helping parents fulfill their volunteer hours!
• I know many of our volunteer jobs haven’t happened yet, but I am already so grateful. Liz Johnson and decor? Let’s just say you’re glad it’s not me... I don’t have the brain for that, so I’m so so thankful for people who do! Concessions and Christie Madsen and team? I was one of the minions on this team last year and it is HOURS of work! Thank you in advance! Heather Lowe taking cast photos? She takes gorgeous pictures and will make our kiddos SHINE. Thanks Heather! Jenni and Ollie Currit and chairs? Can you imagine showing up to the play and having zero chairs in the auditorium? What would we do without them and their team?!?! Sydney Barfuss and hospitality? My mom is lucky if she ever gets a thank you card from me which is embarrassing… so thanks for being on top of it Sydney! Leslie Price and our cast party team? Thank you and I’m looking forward to it! Carrie Nevenner and overseeing EVERYTHING to do with performance nights. I know things will run smoothly on our performance nights, and it will all be thanks to her and everyone helping those nights!
• Lastly, I can’t say enough about Heather Benson, Maquel Evans, and Angela Burkhart. These women are at play practice pretty much every single day without complaint. They’re teaching the songs and choreography, have a vision of what the play can be, know all the entrances and exits of each cast member, help students learn their parts and have a good experience. Did you know Heather doesn’t even have a child attending Upland? Yet she shows up every single day, loving on our kids, and directing the musical this year! Her husband Troy has been at the school many mornings working on the set. Not only that, but he has spent a bajillion hours designing the coolest rose with actual falling petals. Maquel’s grasp of stage management is 100% beyond me. (Let’s all just remember for a minute that I’ve never even been in a play and don’t have the first clue about most of this stuff.) She effortlessly organizes microphones, sound, and allllll the details of who needs to be where and when. Angela breaks down each song helping the kids learn when to come in, what to sing, be on key, hear their cues, etc.

This list is definitely not exhaustive and I’m sure I’m missing people. Sorry!  Basically, my mind is boggled every day and I just wanted to send out a short (or LONG) THANK YOU to each and every one of you!  I’m filled with joy that our kids are able to continue having an annual play experience here at Upland.  This simply would not happen without YOU.  Truly, there isn’t a chance it could happen without you. Even if I wanted to tackle it on my own, I don’t have the time and clearly don’t have all the necessary skills either!  So thanks for bringing your time, talents, vision, creativity, support and more to this play. It takes a village, and we have the best village in the entire world here at Upland!

Heart bursting with gratitude… Thank you thank you!!
Marci Romney